Wales captain Gareth Thomas plays his club rugby for Toulouse

Ruddock wants Gareth Thomas, Colin Charvis, Mefin Davies, Stephen Jones and Gareth Llewellyn to have a week off before the England game on 5 February.

The quintet play for English and French clubs and could be asked to turn out on the weekend of 28 January.

"I have contacted the clubs requesting that the players do not play and I am waiting for answers," said Ruddock.

The clubs concerned are Toulouse (Thomas), Newcastle (Charvis), Gloucester (Davies), Clermont Auvergne (Jones) and Narbonne (Llewellyn).

The fact is that England are ahead of us in terms of preparation Wales coach Mike Ruddock

Ruddock will assemble his squad - including the exiled players - on 23 January, but the players could be recalled to play for their clubs the following weeked.

The Wales coach has also asked the Welsh regions not to include his international players on that weekend, and says he has found a "very sympathetic ear".

The French clubs could prove more of a problem, particularly after a row in the autumn international series when they did not want to release players for the South Africa game because the fixture was a late addition to the international calendar.

A compromise was eventually reached, whereby the players were available for the Springboks fixture but were allowed to return to France instead of taking part in the Japan game.

"If we get the release of all the players it would make it a lot easier for us to have a positive preparation," said Ruddock.

"By the time we get together, England will already have had two three-day training camps.

"The fact is that England are ahead of us in terms of preparation.

"Wales have not won many opening games in the Six Nations over the last decade and I am beginning to see some of the reasons why."